Notre Dame's "Quarterback Battle" Is All But Over For Now

Despite the loss of three-year starter Ian Book, the Notre Dame football team enters the 2021 season with a talented quarterback roster. After a battle raged during the spring, the depth chart appears to be settling into place, and a starter will be named shortly.

"Really, really close. Really, really, really close," head coach Brian Kelly said of the timeframe for naming a starter behind center. "... We have an idea of who it's going to be. We want to talk to the kids probably this weekend; my guess is we'll probably have an announcement for you at the start of next week."

Kelly didn't say who that player the staff thinks it will be, but he wasn't bashful about explaining what he's looking for from that quarterback.

"He's got to disperse the football, certainly down the field," Kelly said of what he's looking for from his quarterback. "He's got to have accuracy in making those throws, so we've been looking for the guys who can make those throws vertically ... There has to be that ability to get the ball down the field.

"We've always felt like the quarterback has got to be the brains of the operation, getting into run checks, protection," continued Kelly. "Those guys are really good at that, but the deciding factor has been the ability to get the ball out on time, accurate and allow this offense to make big plays."

It's not a secret who Kelly is referring to in much of his quarterback discussion. That would be veteran signal caller Jack Coan, who transferred to Notre Dame from Wisconsin this winter, and he's quickly ingratiated himself to his new teammates.

The last time we saw Coan on the field he was leading Wisconsin to a 10-win season, a trip to the Big Ten title game and a berth to the Rose Bowl. After he picked Notre Dame I dove into his film and quickly realized that he had the skills to certainly improve Notre Dame's vertical passing game, something Kelly said the offense wants.

The tools needed to be a good deep ball thrower were evident on film, which is a big reason the Irish staff went after the New York native. Despite wanting Coan based on his Wisconsin film, the Irish staff has still been surprised by some of his traits.

"I think some of the things that surprised me this spring was his arm strength," Kelly explained. "He's much more athletic than people give him credit for ... We knew we had a kid that was smart and tough from that perspective. The arm strength and the ability to run were a bit more than what we had bargained for, and we're happy with that.

"Then coming into preseason camp and even this summer, he's been a really good leader," continued Kelly. "Our guys respect him and have really followed him, and as you know that's really hard to do when you're only here for a very short period of time as a transfer."

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

2022 Big Board: Running Back
2022 Big Board: Slot Receivers

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content, our premium message board and gets you a FREE subscription to Sports Illustrated! Click on the link below for more

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Subscribe to our Irish Breakdown Rumble channel
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Parler: @BryanDriskell
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter